Farmers Insurance Buys MetLife Auto & Home

A subsidiary of insurance carrier Farmers Group Inc. announced it will acquire MetLife Auto & Home, the property and casualty division of MetLife Inc.Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. The transaction is expected to close in the second quarter of 2021.The buying entity is The Farmers Exchanges, a group of three reciprocal insurers based in Woodland Hills. Upon completing the acquisition, it will enter a 10-year exclusive distribution agreement with MetLife under which Farmers will be able to offer personal lines of coverage on MetLife's U.S. Group Benefits platform. It will also assume MetLife Auto & Home’s 3,500 U.S. employees, as well as access to about 250 of MetLife’s affinity groups.MetLife Auto & Home had 2.4 million policies in play and $3.6 billion net written premiums in 2019. According to a statement from Farmers, the acquisition will make it the sixth-largest personal lines insurer in the U.S."The acquisition of MetLife Auto & Home is a unique opportunity to accelerate our growth and gives us a significant presence in all 50 states,” Farmers Chief Executive Jeff Dailey said in a statement.

“MetLife’s distribution channels complement our existing strength in the exclusive agent channel, deepen our presence in the fast-growing independent agent channel and provide us entry into the worksite marketing channel via a leading platform.”